


Clouds Over The Moon, Wind Over The Flowers

by MiChiAzalie



Series: Elegy For A Nameless Flower [1]
Category: Fate/EXTRA, Fate/stay night & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Porn with Feelings, Romance, hurt mild comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-25
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27198331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiChiAzalie/pseuds/MiChiAzalie
Summary: Gilgamesh in particular had never planned for any kind of attachment to anyone. He had other things to consider. However, as he remembers the time he spent with the strange maiden that fell from the boundary of time, the fool who moved him so long ago, the one who managed to have his heart on a string, he wonders at which point things turned the way they turned.
Relationships: Gilgamesh | Caster/Kishinami Hakuno, Gilgamesh/Kishinami Hakuno
Series: Elegy For A Nameless Flower [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2026984
Comments: 2
Kudos: 55





	Clouds Over The Moon, Wind Over The Flowers

The girl before him had her eyes narrowed at him, filled with surprise and mistrust in equal measures.

Gilgamesh thought little of it. She was right to be distrustful. Had he been in her position, he would probably be eyeing himself mistrustfully as well. Then again, he wouldn’t have been caught so easily.

The girl, the awfully young woman who he had caught up with after she had tried to disappear when she took notice of his surveillance, despite the golden ornaments in her ankles and the dress that showed too much of her skin, was anything other but ordinary, with her soft brown eyes and brown hair to match. She wasn’t like the rest of the dancers and the temple maidens crowding the Ziggurat, too caught up in the festivities to care about a missing dancer and a missing king. Not that this was an issue, either; they could continue without him. There were more pressing issues that he had to see through; mainly, the foreign woman who had stared at him so coyly throughout the evening and who kept slipping away from him like time’s sand.

If he was honest with himself, he could find no real reason to chase after her other than to satisfy a caprice; in spite of her apparent ordinariness, she seemed to be an oddity amongst oddities, and something of her beckoned him so -perhaps it was the glint in her eyes, glowing almost like smothering amber under the fires’ light, perhaps it was just her pale skin and the gentle curve of her hips as she moved, the fact that she was foreign, or perhaps it was that she had shown a glimmer of interest in him as she danced, trying her hardest to mimic the rest like a child learning how to read, earnestly trying to blend in without being noticed.

It was quite the enigma; foreigners such as her were hard to come by, and what was more, there was no woman in the whole vicinity of Uruk that had not been presented to him already, and yet still there she was, with him only now finding that one such maiden was kept away from his sight.

How decidedly odd.

Gilgamesh’s eyes had locked on to that woman’s wide brown orbs as she tried to keep up with her dancing. Her movements had been sinuous and enticing, even her long wavy hair, falling in soft curls beneath her shoulders, seemed to have a radiance of its own in spite of being so commonplace.

He had let the young maiden know that he liked her interest in him, flashing her with a knowing smirk that spoke of hidden pleasures, and like a doe before a hunter, she averted her eyes from him, as if she had been caught doing something forbidden. He savored the blush that tinted the brunette’s cheeks, the woman missing her footing ever so slightly before regaining her focus.

She was new to this, and it showed.

He could feel the suppressed desire hiding below her shy exterior. Gilgamesh was past the age of adolescence, however he would be lying if he said he wasn’t considering going back to his former ways if it meant he could savor her more unguarded expressions once more. Fire, he knew as much, knew of no restraint once fanned to full flame, and he knew just how easy that could be done.

The woman had tried to flee the moment she took notice of his intent. Coy as she was, she was intelligent as well. However, as good as her survivor’s instinct was, Gilgamesh’s playmate, his chosen, was fated to be unsuccessful. He had had a long time to learn how to become a predator.

She ran past dancers and temple maidens, weaving through couples and threesomes who were too caught up in their primal urges to so much as notice that their king had disappeared after her, chasing after desire rather than reason.

She had run and run as far as her legs allowed her to, slipping aimlessly through corridors and taking random turns in a futile attempt to get him off-track. Of course, the jingling of the jewelry around her ankles was not aiding her in her efforts, and in the end, she walked herself into something of a dead end.

He had found her in his gardens, eyes wildly scanning it as she tried to look for a way out of her situation, only to come to the obvious conclusion that there was none.

The tune was still playing behind them; the hymn to which she would be stolen away.

He stood there, watching her try to keep her act. It was oddly enticing to look at, although not as enticing as the look that he’s seeing in her eyes right now.

Brown was so common for an eye color, and yet, it was those eyes of her, however, what caught his attention in the first place, and not without a reason.

There were so many emotions blazing in her eyes as she held his gaze that it was hard to track them all. There was an intensity about them, something other than weariness and mistrust. It was small and barely there, buried underneath a deluge of many other emotions that she kept hidden underneath, but Gilgamesh could see it for what it was.

A sparkling light of hope amongst the flowers, impossible to stifle, dancing around her eyes and making the brown in them gleam like molten gold.

And truly, what could a man do when buried in the sands of desire, if not to entertain himself as he waited for the inevitable moment in which his partner caved in to drown with him?

He took one step forward, and she took two steps back. He took another step towards her, and in response she took a few steps back again, putting some space between herself and him. As he approached, he sensed the woman’s will to flee rise. However, he was so confident that she would not that he did nothing to dampen said fear; while the intent was there, the two of them knew it would only worsen her situation, so she remained unmoving, watching him carefully.

There was nowhere else she could run to, after all. If she wanted out, she would have to run past him.

Her attempt at escaping him had been entertaining, but even there had to be limits to such foolishness.

“You must be well aware that I know these halls better than you do, and yet you still decided to make a run for it, thinking you could outrun me. A noble endeavor, to be certain. Still futile, nonetheless.”

His words echoed through the enclosed garden.

The woman’s shock turned into a look of fear, her eyes clouded with a look he's only seen in the eyes of feral animals; somehow, he felt that expression did not belong on her face.

It ought not.

“What's wrong, mongrel? Lost your appetite for playacting?”

However, the expression was short-lived. Something seemed to click in the mind of that woman, and with renewed energy, she narrowed her eyes and shifted automatically into a defensive position, balancing her weight on the balls of her feet as her shoulders tensed, readying herself to move quickly if the need arose.

And then, then he saw it.

Filaments of light, glowing eerily, were showing clearly across the skin of her arms, the rush of magic building in the air and engulfing them both.

For a brief moment, he felt himself still, but it was only a fraction of a second before he felt himself chuckle, the sound of it ricocheting through the halls and adding to the maiden’s more than apparent confusion.

So she did have her secrets after all.

Before him did not stand an ordinary maiden, oh, no. Instead, what he had was an unsuspecting, average mage, one who could look into the darkness if she so desired but who did not comprehend what lied beyond just yet. And seeing herself cornered, the idiot was trying to challenge him.

Well, he did always have a penchant for the feisty type, and in her stare and disposition, he unmistakably saw the radiance a brethren of his.

However, he had too few pieces of the puzzle that she was to form a clearer picture. His current priority, then, was closing the distance separating him from his little magician.

He smirked at her as his laughter subsided, giving her a sidelong look.

“Ah. Well, at least you have confidence, foolish as it may be. Maybe you've got more to offer than I expected. Although it is not especially original. What do you believe you shall accomplish with this?”

She looked at him straight in his eyes and he knew she was going to try to lie, although was it truly of any use when he could see right through her?

“I just… don’t want you closer.”

And yet, in spite of her valiant efforts to remain as composed as him, the woman was shivering ever so slightly, betraying the intensity of that glare of hers.

There was a strange urgency in her voice – he mistook it as fear, but it wasn’t quite that; it was restlessness, the kind one showed when they were about to be caught doing something they shouldn’t, when the stakes were too high and dangerous to even entertain the possibility of gambling against them.

“That delightful glare of yours might say so, but I know there’s a libertine within you, little maiden,” Gilgamesh said, “Won’t you come over?”

The woman shuddered delicately but remained resolute in her mistrusting. It did not seem like she was going to lower her guard anytime soon.

“Whatever for?”

“A whim?”

The woman remained unblinking, frown still firmly set in place, and if anything, Gilgamesh was convinced her eyes grew even more wary, more guarded, as though she was struggling against her better instincts.

Oh, but that couldn’t do.

If he hadn’t been amused before, now he was, and dangerously so.

“Am I then to believe you aren’t curious?” he asked of her.

She scowled, cheeks reddening at what was left unsaid as she answered quickly, “No.”

“Really?” He asked again, sounding highly skeptical as he cocked his head before he broke off to snort.

He wondered if the girl before him would betray his expectations. Then again, to her credit, while most people would be soiling themselves or pleading forgiveness, she was standing her ground with as much dignity as a wide-eyed, trembling mess of a woman could.

The woman remained still for a moment, clearly unsure of what to do. Her eyes were watching him minutely, studying his posture and position, watching for the slightest flicker of movement in case she had to react, but when she saw no ill intent, she eased her own stance slightly, and ever so slowly, she relaxed, something that he took avantage of to stride forward, until the distance separating them was barely a meter.

This time around, she did not attempt to step back, or even entertain the idea that she could try to run away from him again.

She bit the inside of her cheek.

“I heard… about you,” she said finally, only now noticing that her speech sounding strangely accented and just slightly broken, as if she still hadn’t quite grasped the language but was trying her hardest not to let it show.

“Oh?”

Her eyes found his again, and was given the impression she was looking for something inside the depths of his irises, as if she were trying to determine if this was some kind of elaborate trick, her mind going a million directions at once. 

She sucked in a thin breath.

“You take… things to keep.” It was an accusation Gilgamesh had heard before, stated differently but meaning the same. However, he’d never heard it said like that; not in broken Sumerian, and not like such a logical, harsh statement of a reality.

“Does it concern you so? That you may be sequestered tonight?”

However, that woman simply looked at him with an expression so baffled it was almost comical.

“But there’s nothing worth of theft about me,” she argued further, a million conflicting emotions showing in her voice. “You just stumbled upon the most uninteresting maiden in the whole kingdom…” She trailed off

He shook his head at that, grinning broadly, his red eyes twinkling with mirth, suddenly more than a little curious.

“A little too late to say that after that display of magecraft just now, don’t you believe? Is it that you ran out of tricks, little magician?”

The woman bit her lip, her face contemplative as she casted her eyes to the floor.

“I shouldn’t be here,” she said, as if it ought to be obvious.

Gilgamesh raised an intrigued eyebrow.

He failed to see the appeal in her restraint. Maybe he would have if he were younger, but now it just felt like foolishly staling the inevitable. 

“Is that so?”

The woman nodded, eyes still fixed to the ground as if the answer to all her concerns were laying there.

His smile never faltered, and as his eyes twinkled mischievously, he leaned in even closer to her face, knowing exactly what he was doing.

“But then, why are you here, then? Whyever did you gaze upon me, if you should not?”

The brunette stared up at him then, and shook her head. In spite of such, something in her façade broke before him as a faint blush tinted her cheeks. Her eyes then flickered from side to side, now avoiding his own at all cost.

“You don’t want me, really,” she repeated, interrupting his train of thought as she shook her head vehemently, and Gilgamesh thought her words were more meant for herself than for him. “I’m not the entertainment you think I am.”

Gilgamesh laughed, a soft, deep chuckle, although he wouldn’t deny that she disappointed him slightly with her excess of prudence.

“Pity you think so trivially of yourself-”

Gilgamesh knew he’d barely scratched the surface with that woman, even if she argued otherwise, and he would love to strip her bare of all those layers she hid herself underneath.

Figuratively and literally.

He flashed her a smile that was all teeth.

“-Because, fool of fools, I do think you are.”

He uttered the words barely above a breathy whisper, and reached a hand out to…

* * *

…hold her back to keep her from falling over him.

However, it was already too late.

Gilgamesh found more and more excuses to spend time with her, to keep Hakuno closer and away from prying eyes, and soon he found out that stealing her for his own entertainment has rapidly become his most loved pastime, even if the results of it were not exactly what he had been expecting from her.

Gilgamesh had been working at Hakuno for months now, trying to wear her down enough so that she allowed her past life under the clutches of religious life be swept into a wave of oblivion. He wanted to see _Hakuno_ , the Hakuno who allowed herself to act on her desires instead of pretending she had none.

Gilgamesh had tried everything in his power to weaken her defenses; comforts, riches, games, pleasures of any kind, but none of it seemed to work, the woman remaining adamant in staying inside that bland, washed out temple, keeping company to the most frigid of goddesses, eluding him time and time again, until he did find something that did.

Apparently, all he had ever needed was…

…Sweets, and a promise of teaching her magic.

When Gilgamesh took her away from the temple she was being kept under the pretext of teaching her magic following a whim, the fool actually believed him. No, even more than that. She had looked up all starry-eyed at him, and flashed him a smile so wide and sincere it made his heart skip a beat, treacherous thing that it was.

Ever since then, Gilgamesh had been increasingly aware that the dedication he spent on her went far beyond from what could be classified as curiosity or even simple carnal attraction, nearing the realm of infatuation instead, but he had also found out that he didn’t much care, deciding that he would be keeping the little fool for more than training purposes, and remained in a ‘wait and see’ stance; after all, the girl proved to be amusing despite how clumsy her attempts at magecraft were -although considering the state of her magic circuits, he could overlook that.

The little fool of a magician did somewhat exceed his expectations, in the end; she was a fast learner, helpful and reliable, and she always trusted and looked for the best in people, which ought to be compromising; Hakuno, once convinced, was far too trusting, more than he would want her to.

However, it also made things easier for him, because there he was, with his back pressing against the unforgiving, hard ground at the sore of the Euphrates, with the little fool of a mage on top as she tried to recover from her last unsuccessful attempt at competent magecraft.

Gilgamesh wasn’t sure if it was some kind of curse or if whoever -or whatever- had trashed her magic circuits so had intended to keep her that way for reasons unknown, but Hakuno seemed unable to successfully cast anything else that was not defensive magic, and while this was not something that concerned him heavily, Hakuno was still adamant in improving it.

Her last attempt at casting something vaguely resembling a concentrated burst of mana ended up with her releasing a ball of flame so hot it not only vaporized the water’s surface as it traveled across the river before it disappeared into nothingness, it also sent her flying back, clearly not prepared to brace herself for the amount of energy it had required.

He had been watching from behind all the while, and had intended to catch her before any of them could hit ground, but it was pointless, in the end, because the recoil hit harder and faster than he thought it would, and it sent them both reeling back, much to Gilgamesh’s chagrin, hitting the unforgiving, hard ground as water splashed through all directions.

Not that Hakuno seemed to be in much pain after that.

She simply made a grumbling noise as she moved in a slow wriggle against him, hands against his shoulders as she turned herself around to meet him in the eye.

She didn’t look the slightest bit apologetical that her failure had sent him falling against the dirt of the river’s sore.

“Well, I guess I’ll just have to try again, then,” Hakuno beamed without a care in the world, almost as if unaware of how her dirtied, soaked clothes were clinging uncomfortably against her skin, and just how precarious her position was, and just how close to serious damage she could have been. “I can do more, right?”

The woman was irredeemable.

Gilgamesh recovered easily from the impact.

“Fool, it took you months to accomplish the basics, and now you want to try your luck pyromancy?” the blond said beneath her. It was meant to be reproachful, but Hakuno’s grin, if possible, only got even wider, seemingly proud of her own handywork, and he couldn’t help but feel her own pride wash over him as well.

The maiden he had first seen cowering in his gardens and the maiden that was laying atop of him covered in dirt and water almost seemed like two separated entities, although he soon found out they were just two sides of the same idiot.

There was more to her than what met the eye, of that, he was sure.

“I thought you were about to teach me those. What happened to your so-called lessons on ‘the joys of life’?”

He gave her a quirk of eyebrows.

“Is getting me covered in grime and mud as you take your anger out on an innocent river under the pretext of practicing your mana really so amusing?”

Another toothy grin.

“Well, yeah, actually- OwowowowOW!”

He pinched her nose between his fingers in reprimand, and let go a few seconds later when the corners of her eyes began water with unshed tears.

Hakuno made several incoherent sounds of both pain and protest before finally settling with, “Now you’re just being petty.”

Gilgamesh tutted.

“It only takes a few seconds to overload one’s mana circuits,” he countered lightly.

The vixen had the gall to grin at him again, as if unfazed.

“Then I will have to be more careful, won’t I?” she said, a hint of playfulness in her voice. “I’m not planning on dying anytime soon. There’s a lot I don’t know that I want to remember, and I’ve just barely started. So… not happening.”

She moved from his lap, standing up. Her fingertips did not linger a second too long on his skin as she reincorporated herself on her feet, almost as if she thought she would burn if she touched him more than was needed to.

Gilgamesh found himself being irritated over the fact. Moments such as these made him think his own infatuation couldn’t be one-sided, but Hakuno always found a way to slip away from his fingers.

He watched her walk to the river’s shore, kneeling down to pick a stone to throw. She tossed the pebble from one hand to the other as she looked over the river.

“…I used to do this a lot with someone else. Only it was… not here.”

Her voice grew quieter as she spoke, casting somewhat of a rueful glance at the small rock in her hand as she did. She ran her fingers through its flat surface before drawing her arm back and hurling it forward, sending the stone skipping across the river. Small ripples formed every time the stone hit the surface, four times in a row, before disappearing beneath the water.

“I was hand in hand with that someone, that’s the last thing I can remember. I'm… not sure who they were or why they were there, though. But…” she trailed off, a pensive look making itself manifest on her features.

Had he been younger, he would have entertained himself watching how deep the roots of her determination really went -would they bloom, or would they scatter in the wind, falling around her feet like rain? Would she give up on her dream, whichever it truly was, and bleed out of her mouth in a mess of pain and lies?

However-

“…I don't know why, but I feel like I know who the person is. The features are hard to make out but somehow are clearly familiar to me. While it’s something of a faint memory, I think I can remember, if I keep doing this. It’s almost like… the more I improve, the more I can recollect.”

-However, something in Hakuno’s nature had ensnared him. He wasn’t yet sure of what it was, but before he knew it, the fool was in his mind at all times. The sight of Hakuno’s unrelenting will made something raw coil deep inside of him, radiating a warmth so strangely familiar he could not tear his eyes away

He watched her throw stone after stone, immersed in some strange thought as her eyes seemed to be searching for something in the depths of the river, and illuminated by the moonlight’s faint radiance, her hair seemed like it glowed from within.

After that, they lapsed into silence, and with her sad eyes gazing upon the water’s surface, he made up his mind.

“I’m sorry,” she said finally, “I’m rambling now, I didn’t mean to sound so depressing. I guess I’ll -Gilgamesh!”

Hakuno reacted one instant too late, and they both tumbled backwards and into the water as she was pulled against strong arms and was shoved down. Unfortunately, the water was not deep enough to fully cushion her fall, so when she hit the ground, water splashing around them, it was with a hiss of pain.

Hakuno groaned as she tried to push herself to a sitting position; however, Gilgamesh was not sympathetic to her plight, and kept her pinned to the ground below in spite of her efforts to wiggle out from under him.

“Gil-”

His eyes bore into hers while their breaths mingled, faces mere inches away. She fitted well beneath him, and for a brief moment he let himself wonder how it would feel like to have her limbs tangled around his.

“This is for getting me covered in grime with that stunt of yours from before.”

His eyes flashed then, and before Hakuno could realize what was about to take place, he leaned down and a hot wet tongue slid against her earlobe.

“And this, is for the sake of remembrance.”

There were many reactions he would have expected from Hakuno. He anticipated a retaliation, he expected to see that coyness that he was shown, back when he first caught a glimpse at her.

However, Hakuno, with her lips parted in an inaudible gasp, looked anything but coy or ready to flee.

She looked… alive; her whole skin was flushed with life, with the barest hint of skepticism hiding in her eyes, almost unsure of her next course of action, as if she was fighting against some better knowledge or as if she was under the impression that any movement, slight as it was, would break the atmosphere around them and everything would come tumbling down.

Gilgamesh saw the barely concealed apprehension in her eyes and how she struggled to remain poker-faced, and a wider smile formed in his lips as a realization dawned on him.

“This is actually making you nervous, isn’t it?”

Oh, but it was.

Hakuno was bearing a look he was fairly familiar with; the look of anticipation, as well as something else.

Worry.

Worry for what, Gilgamesh could not understand; after all, whatever could be so upsetting about this moment that she would consider it worthwhile to waste their time with considerations?

Hakuno regarded him with a confused stare, looking as if _he_ , instead, was the one whose behavior didn’t make sense at all.

“Gil, what… are you going to do now?” she asked, lips suddenly dry, the wavering in her voice making it obvious that she was struggling to keep her voice even.

He reached out to tuck a flyaway hair behind her ear before he cupped her cheek with his hand.

“Don’t you trust me?”

She made an unsure sound at that, the notes of her voice discordant as she seemed to ponder on that, casting a sidelong glance at him all the while as if trying to figure out what the catch was. While she didn’t look certain, she didn’t deny his words, either.

It was enough for the time being.

He lowered his face and stopped mere inches away from her lips, barely touching them with his as he spoke.

“You mentioned having trouble with memory. Thus, I am giving you something of I,” he replied, “so that you don’t forget.”

The air grew thick then, and he reveled in this heady cloud of wonder and want that hung around them.

“And to remember what, exactly?” Hakuno questioned him softly, her mask of serenity breaking as a faint blush tinted her cheeks.

The next words, Gilgamesh considered them carefully.

‘Me’ would have been the straightforward response, but that was not what came out as he decided to let her mind reach for the obvious conclusion instead.

“You must know. I’ve made it quite clear, haven't I?” he murmured against her lips.

And before Hakuno could have the audacity of wasting more of their time by being unnecessarily chaste around him, Gilgamesh cradled her face with his hands and shortened the distance between the two. He could not see the other's surprised expression, or if she had closed her eyes or not to enjoy the close contact, but he could feel her arms rest against his chest as she shifted against him, perhaps in a reflex reaction to something she was undoubtedly not used to, but her surprise didn’t last long and soon her hands curled around his nape, moving her lips tentatively against his own, melting against him as she abandoned herself to the sway of his lips against hers and the warmth of him against her soaked skin.

It was an inebriating feeling that left him heady and wanting more. Without realizing it, that fool’s company became something he couldn't imagine not having.

Gilgamesh was alight with desire.

Hakuno’s eyes, her touch, her lips. Gilgamesh wanted those to keep as well, because all he’s ever known was _take, take, and take,_ because if he wanted something, he made it his, and Gilgamesh saw no reason why he should break with pre-established traditions now of all times.

It has always been this simple.

When he pulled away, it was to see Hakuno’s eyes darken with pent-up arousal.

“Will it cost me?” she asked, still a hair’s breadth away, smoldering brown eyes searching for _something_ in his expression, reaching, allways reaching out for something beyon her reach.

A wide smirk spread across his lips.

“Not to worry,” he said, fingertips brushing gently against her lips. “I’m sure I can think of some way you can repay me.”

She didn't answer, but Gilgamesh found she didn’t need to; the red on the tips of her ears, Hakuno looking flushed and tantalizing, like a woman who has finally discarded the last vestiges of her self-imposed chains, told him all that he needed to know,

This version of Hakuno, this is whom Gilgamesh chose to keep entirely to himself.

He moved his hands down, grabbing her by the shoulders and…

* * *

…shoved her forward, whatever words she might have wanted to say dying in her throat when he tossed her onto the bed.

Time seemed to slow down as he got lost in the process of removing the obstacle of their clothing. Fabrics upon fabrics laid a rumpled mess somewhere around the bedchambers where he had discarded them.

Lips met together quickly as he climbed on top of her, caging her in, and for once he was being patient, feeling Hakuno comply to his desires, mingling her tongue with his.

He pulled away for a second to catch a breath before lunging down again. He just breathed through his nose, with no intention of taking his lips off hers. He licked her upper lip before biting down on her bottom lip, enjoying the metal taste of blood as his teeth teared some of her tender skin.

He reached for her naked waist, moving his hands with deft precision along her body, wanting to memorize every inch of her skin as it shuddered and prickled beneath his touch. Hakuno’s hands also ran over his body, more unsure but just as inquisitive: his arms, his back, his hair, and the back of his neck. Their bodies brushed against one another and the heat between them increased to an unbearable inferno.

“G-Gil…” she managed to call out to him against his lips, breathing heavily. Her voice came out so low that even he was surprised he could hear her above the agitated sound of their breathing.

Gilgamesh allowed his gaze to wander over her nakedness. Hakuno was staring up at him, looking broken and debauched with how her long hair was a tangled mess, sprawled all over the bed, the flush of desire extending to her chest and her lips looking so swollen and bruised from kissing it was hard resisting leaning down again to steal her breath away.

Just like that, a hunger overcame him, the urge to establish his claim on her in the most primal of ways rising up within him.

He cupped her chest and leaned down to flick his tongue at a rosy peak, licking long, wet stripes across it before he enclosed his lips around the nub, working it with lips and teeth. Hakuno let out a long, whimpering cry as he sent quivers of pleasure through her body, leaving long trails of licks over her breasts as he went from one to another, the salty taste of her skin as he swirled his tongue all around her chest nearly not enough.

His hands were hardly idle —they were running down her sides to her thighs, that slow touch drifting lower as he admired her sweat-slick skin, spreading her legs wide. Hakuno’s breath hitched, only to be exhaled harshly when one finger touched her swollen clit, rubbing it in slow circular motions, multiplying her blissful arousal.

A line of sweat ran down across her forehead, her lips parting every now and then in open-mouthed moans, her body responding to whatever he did to it like it was made for him. He gave one nipple a lingering lick before kissing up her breastbone, smiling against her skin, pleased of how responsive she was as he nipped a path up her neck to her jawline, faintly pressing his lips against the corner of her mouth before catching her lips in his again.

She cried out softly against his mouth when he allowed one finger to slip inside of her, slow and agonizing, and she was so warm, so wet; her walls tightened instinctively as she spread her legs wider, beckoning his finger deeper inside as he continued his teasing, the thumb of his other hand circling around her clit.

She writhed beneath him when another finger joined the first, then arched her back and closed her eyes shut when he added a third, his thumb circled around her swelling clit over and over all the while in motions that had her twitching beneath him, her breath coming in short gasps as her eyes rolled back into her head.

She was a whimpering, dripping mess, and he only wanted more of it.

“So wet, so docile,” he leaned down, lips brushing against the shell of her ear as he smeared the wetness over, “that's how I want you.”

Hakuno simply moaned to that, arching her back as her hands curled around the sweat-drenched sheets, hips rocking clumsily against his hand to urge him on in small, frantic motions, and this time around, there was nothing performative or insincere in the way she looked at him as he touched her, or the way she tried to meet his fingers; this time around, there was no hesitation, no unecessary shame, her little sounds becoming steadily more pleading as she abandoned herself to the sensations.

 _This, this_ was Hakuno, born anew.

The stench of her arousal filled the air, leaving him no doubt that she wanted this and more. He kept abusing the spot with his fingers at a relentless pace, thumbing her clit in sync with his thrusts, the gasping sounds that she made sounding so torn and ragged it made his heart clench with longing.

He could not keep himself from groaning in response, the sweet sounds she made reminding him how badly he wanted her, making him forget why he was being slow in the first place as he considered giving the both of them the relief they were longing for.

Hakuno must have sensed his thought, and a soft sound came from her lips as his fingers sped up, her voice a desperate rasp of yearning as her fingers tangled in his hair.

“Please,” she whispered, a breadth’s hair away, “do whatever you want to me,” she confessed before she dissolved into breathless panting again.

Gilgamesh stole a glance at Hakuno, and much to his delight he saw in her the same raw need to possess, eyes too clouded, her pupils too dilated to properly discern the small specks of gold that swirled in her irises, and he really had to wonder at which point Hakuno had gained the ability to bring him to this state of absolute ruin.

When he started scissoring her open, her reaction did not disappoint. She threw her head back, letting out a long sigh as she wrapped her arms around him and exposed her neck for him to nip at. He was not sure if she was aware of what she was doing, looking like this, all flushed and stretched around his slick fingers.

He was drawn to her like a moth to a flame.

Her nails were digging into the taut flesh of his back as he nipped her neck, occasionally lapping at the markings his teeth had left there, making her spasm against him as she shuddered on his fingers.

By the time Gilgamesh deemed her ready, Hakuno’s legs were shaking and he felt it in the erratic clenching of her walls that she was getting close, begging to be touched and sent over the edge. When he reluctantly slipped his fingers out of her all-encompassing heat, the frustrated whine that came out of her all but confirmed her need, her body trembling impotently at the loss of stimulation. 

His hands travelled to her hips, caressing them softly before his palms rested on her upper thighs, urging them apart so that his hips could settle against her core. He took himself in hand and lined himself, prodding at her entrance with merely the head of his member.

Hakuno drew in a shaky breath as she felt the head press against her entrance, closing her eyes and frowning in that familiar expression of poorly concealed apprehension that he was so used to see on her whenever she was preparing herself for something unpleasant, willing herself to remain composed.

Hakuno’s old, silly barriers went up at once.

He reached a hand to stroke at the skin of her cheek with his thumb, and in response, he got what he wanted to see: her eyes staring back at his, glazed over in lust but with a faint layer of trepidation.

“Don’t fight it,” he said gently, “Relax, let it happen, and the pain will be brief.”

And then he was pushing into her, Hakuno’s arousal easing his entry as he entered just a fraction, and then just a fraction more and then another. She groaned at the moment of penetration, her features contorted slightly as she received him, taking what she wanted, what she deserved, as the blond stretched her open, a mix of blood and fluids dripping out onto his member.

Despite her gritted teeth, she moved to wrap her legs around his waist, pulling him closer.

“Gil,” she rasped as her eyelids fluttered, voice coming out desperate and wanton and trembling, hair clinging to her forehead as sweat beads ran down her temples in an image so debauched and impure it was hard believing she was not making it on purpose to egg him on. 

He gasped, feeling how tight and wet she was around him. He leaned his head down and their foreheads touched, their breaths mingling as he eased in deeper and deeper, bodies grounding together as her body adjusted to the intrusion, getting used to the stretch of him inside her.

He started slowly, taking in all the silent cues she sent to him as he rocked into her with purpose, aiming for the spot that would set her alight, and it was torture for the both of them. Every thrust had her clench tighter around him; she gasped when he pulled nearly all the way out, and keened when he slid back inside.

The smell of their shared lust filled the air, all mixed with the soft, wet sounds of their rutting, the small brunette making little gasping noises each time he slammed into her.

He was euphoric, engulfed as he was by her.

He was rocking harder and faster now, and she was bucking her hips wantonly to keep up with it. She had one arm around his shoulders now, the other having reached down to touch herself.

Desperate to feel her closer, he pressed his hands around her hips to bring himself deeper within. He brushed his nose with hers, then traced the shell of her ear with his lips.

"When you come, say my name. I want to hear it," he whispered, moving his hands momentarily to cradle her face between his palms, thumbing away treacherous tears.

She all but groaned at the insinuation and forced him down to kiss him. She bit his lip and their mouths opened slightly, tongues entwining and playing freely with each other.

Suddenly she pulled away, breaking off with a gasp that turned into a broken moan.

"Gil…" she whimpered; it was hard to breathe. "Gilgamesh!”

His lips were on hers again in an instant, pulling her into a sloppy kiss that silenced her pleas, and seconds after that Hakuno gasped and clenched her legs around him as she spasmed, fingernails digging deep into his shoulders as she was reduced to simple, abject need; no longer were there any doubts as to who she was and where she belonged.

A jolt of pleasure ran through his spine, blowing through him as he spasmed in return, coming hard and fast, shooting into her warm and tight canal.

Gilgamesh took and took from her until Hakuno’s voice was hoarse from screaming his name, until she was unable to feel anything but orgasmic bliss.

It was earth shattering. It was overpowering, perfect. It was…

* * *

…Not quite alright.

The moment he stepped outside the audience chamber he knew something was amiss.

Things were not the way they should, and he felt the beginning of yet another headache as he walked past halls.

Of course, the events that unfolded after only confirmed his suspicions, and a headache, he found soon enough, wouldn’t be the worst of his problems.

The worst...

“King Gilgamesh! Do not dare to ignore me! _Gilgamesh_!”

…was to listen to nothing but foolish blabbering.

He suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, the aggravating sound of the goddess’ voice making him turn around as he dragged all the bad blood flowing through his veins all back down underneath a mask of serenity, as if finding her roaming through his cherished halls, making foolish demands of him, had not bothered him in the slightest.

Years of practice made perfection.

“My time is precious, Ereshkigal,” he told her, and his tone made it very clear that hers wasn’t, and while he didn't sound angry, there was an edge to his voice that suggested he wasn't the slightest bit pleased about her presence. “Do tell me, is this something you do on purpose to spite me so, or does the bad timing just come as naturally as it does with your useless piece of flesh of a sister?”

“This is no time for you to be amusing yourself,” Ereshkigal’s usual soft features were devoid of all trace of humor, her gaze serious and intense. “You already know what I’m here for. I am here to reclaim the mage that you stole from _my_ temple.”

Oh, so she really thought so?

Well, too bad.

The blond laughed in baffled amusement.

“You cannot reclaim something that was not of yours in the first place. As I see it, there is nothing for you to meddle with. Everything is as it should.”

The goddess stared at him incredulously, and then she gave him a smile with all her teeth.

“Oh, no. No, _of course_ , everything is as it should, you’re certainly right,” she stared to say, the faux sweetness dripping from her tone in dissonance with the harsh look she was giving him, “whatever could be wrong about— about—” Gilgamesh had his eyebrows raised expectantly, “seeing _the biggest, most persistent pain in the ass of this whole Kingdom_ ,” she hissed venomously, “taking a maiden of mine for his own pleasures, _from my own temple_ , who just so happens to be a magician who had _inexplicably_ crossed the boundary of time, only to find out that she’s now with child because of him—”

“I still cannot see how this is any of your concern,” he cut her off stiffly. “Whatever is so illegitimate about this?”

Ereshkigal looked at him agape, slowly going red with poorly-concealed rage as her breath came hard with fury. She waved an arm around.

“I—I cannot believe you! Gilgamesh, she does _not_ belong here, you are acutely aware that she’s ill, and- and that she was a _virgin,_ and you just— just— urgh!” The goddess fumed, stomping her foot against the ground with vehemence before running a hand through her face. “You know about Ishtar and just how adamant she is on not letting you have heirs— when she catches on, which believe me she will, then—”

Gilgamesh eyed her in irritation as he felt his own patience already running low. He waved a hand, silencing her.

“Do you truly believe that waste of oxygen you have for a sister will catch up to this? Or even be allowed to set foot here?” Gilgamesh kept his expression as neutral as he could, trying to act indifferent to her speech, and the he continued. “She’s too tangled within our world to ever be returned back, Ereshkigal, you are well aware of this, just as you are well aware that Hakuno is safer within these walls than she will ever be within yours.”

“ _Gilgamesh_ —"

The blond paid no heed to her warning tone, and cut her off in mid-sentence.

“Think of it as an arrangement that suits us all; I get to keep a fool who fulfills me, and if you behave and cooperate, you might even get to see the first of my heirs to ever run through these halls; everyone is happy,” Gilgamesh reasoned, sounding a tad too gentle in comparison with his steel features.

He saw the goddess’ features twist in something akin to anguish, a million thoughts running through her head as she seemed to consider his words. Gilgamesh had to wonder; was she simply distressed, or was she trying to detect a lie? Gilgamesh kept his expression carefully neutral, but he already knew that he had hit a soft spot for the blonde —children being one such, and he as well knew that he had won that stupid argument of hers when her eyes closed, that ever-present frown of hers dissipating until only resignation showed in her countenance.

Ereshkigal cast a worried look at him and sighed, her voice thin. “…But why her? Out of all of them, why did it have to be her? It was I... who she found first. It is... unfair.”

The blond stared at her for a moment, as if deciding whether or not he should grace that with an answer, then he shrugged.

Why, indeed.

Gilgamesh did not spare her so much as another glance before he turned his back to her and resumed his path, not giving the respect of an answer. This time, the goddess did not follow.

He closed his eyes and tried willing away the last vestiges of his migraine, then opened them again, slowly. Thoughts of Hakuno and now Ereshkigal’s paltry warnings circled through his exhaustion, but he refused to give in.

He pushed the double doors to his bedchambers and passed through, closing them behind him.

The smell of herbs lingered in the air as he made himself comfortable inside. His eyes quickly scanned the room in search for the familiar heap of brown hair peeking through the furs and covers of his bed, where he had left her earlier that day to be catered and tended to, and took quick strides when he heard said heap make a mumbling noise at his intrusion, giving out her current position.

Gilgamesh walked forward and sat on a free spot beside her.

Curled in a small ball on his bed, and covered with the finest of his pelts and furs, Hakuno truly was ‘in her element’. Her sleeping face was untroubled, her breathing light and effortless.

Gilgamesh reached a hand to brush off her sweaty bangs from her forehead, the motion making her stir ever so slightly; however, she did not open her eyes. He trailed a path down to her cheek with a knuckle, caressing it in gentle circular motions with the pad of his forefinger when he cupped it in his hand.

Hakuno gave a protesting groan of wakefulness at that, curling in herself more in an attempt to retain even more body heat. She blindly reached a hand out to him, which he took in his, lacing their fingers together gently.

“Gil—?” came her soft croak, brown, bleary eyes opening to bore into his.

“Who else, if not I?” he brought her hand to his lips, kissing her knuckles lightly. “You should rest,” he said softly, watching how her eyes were half-closed again.

“I’m plenty rested,” she complained as she rubbed an eye with the back of her other hand, her mind clearly not yet awake. “ _You_ should rest.”

He casted her sidelong look that he doubted she took notice of, a hint of a smile on his lips.

“Ah, but what a selfish thing you are. Is it that you intend to keep the king at your beck and call?”

She only hummed at that in what he presumed was acknowledgement.

Well, who was he to deny such sentiments?

Beckoned by her warmth, he allowed himself if only some minutes of rest; Gilgamesh climbed onto the bed and settled down on that spot beside her as Hakuno moved to make space for him. His arms reached out to her, folding her in them and holding her there as if to reassure himself that she was real.

Of course, the doubt itself was absurd.

A beat of silence, then another, until Hakuno’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Gil?”

Gilgamesh reached out and brushed an unruly strand of hair from her face, which she took as a cue to continue.

“…Gil, do you… know who I am?” She asked in a low voice against the crook of his neck, hesitation palpable in the air.

Gilgamesh… blinked at that.

Hakuno wasn’t as fond of riddles as he was, so the question must have been meant to be literal, although he had a feeling that there was more to it, hidden behind a veil of deceit; he could almost taste heartbreaking loneliness in the smallness of her voice.

However, the broken mirror that was her remembrance was too distorted to even think about putting the pieces back together again.

Gilgamesh leant closer and kissed the bridge of her nose as he reached his hand down her navel, regarding her with a look someone might use when answering something so obvious that the mere prospect of asking could be nothing but silly.

“You are who you are. That is all there is to it. I don’t want you to be anyone but you.”

Hakuno was silent for a while, as if reflecting upon his words, and then she said, “I don’t want to go back.”

Gilgamesh snorted softly, feeling almost offended.

“You won’t go back.”

Of course she wouldn’t; not only was the thought absurd beyond words, it was already far too late for that.

He got no response to that. Hakuno simply curled tightly around him, and they just stayed like that for a while, with one of Hakuno’s hands entwined with his as he listened to her steady breathing and felt his child misbehave against his touch.

For a long moment, all he did was just look at her.

Gilgamesh in particular had never planned for any kind of attachment to anyone. He had other things to consider —mainly, ruling a Kingdom, and he knew how fragile people were.

They don’t last. It is how it is; in the end, they are all broken under the heels of life and Gilgamesh refused to indulge in a lie.

However, somewhere along the way, Hakuno had shattered those plans and perceptions.

Ereshkigal can wait until the world ends- he will never comply with her wishes. And fortunately, her useless sister wasn’t that crafty. Not like him.

Gilgamesh wasn't worried. He would achieve everything he wanted, and he could play those goddesses like the easiest of fiddles. He was, after all, very good at gambling and even better at lying.

For a long moment, Hakuno was everything.

A wave of warmth enveloped him in that moment that could have been eternal, and it made no sense, it made…

* * *

…no sense.

His jaw tightened, a clear indicator that his patience was running thin, and though he had said nothing yet, wordless rage boiled over his face.

He was no longer sitting.

He could not.

He was pacing around the audience chamber like one of his lions, all repressed frustration with no clear target to be discharged at, shoulders hunched and eyes hardened until there was only red in them.

The night was deceptively peaceful; the sky was clear, countless of stars showing above as the full moon’s white light spilled within, and the wind was blowing serenely over the trees and the flowers.

But this was wrong.

The king of Uruk had lost his consort. The forces of nature should somehow reflect this. They should know of the wrong done to him and act accordingly.

Siduri lowered her face and quietly shook her head to the side.

“She isn’t here anywhere anymore, my king. We have searched through caravans, through temples, though the city, and through the forest, through the neighboring cities, and yet-” she swallowed thickly, struggling to keep her voice calm, and continued, “it is almost as if… she had just disappeared.”

His fingers twitched.

“Disappeared,” he repeated the words, voice raising, “ _disappeared_?”

Siduri did not meet his eyes, her own brimming with unshed tears.

_Disappeared._

Gilgamesh disposed of it as a meaningless string of sounds. His brain denied the information he gained.

“How did this happen?" he muttered to himself. "How—"

“Guards have reported to have seen the priests at Nanna’s temple restless, maybe—"

The rest of her words were indistinct, an idea already implanted in his mind. The blond already was upset, but as the assistant spoke, those feelings ignited into anger, hands starting shaking.

Truth be told, he really wasn't planning much of anything, and by this point, he was acting on pure instinct. If what he had in mind was indeed the case, then they simply deserved to have their lands set aflame.

He was already walking past Siduri, making haste of leaving the audience chamber.

“My king—!”

Unfortunately, he didn’t get much further than that. Siduri grabbed his wrist, halting him in his tracks.

“My king, please, do not be hasty, we cannot risk war over a hypothesis, you could not possibly—"

Oh, but he could.

If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was that the dynasty of Uruk was going to be revenged, even if he could not go and deliver said vengeance as of now—

“My king, I beg of you; losing one parent is one thing, another… you'll have to tell him as well, sooner or later."

His gaze darkened.

“Not now."

—And when that happened, they had better pick a god and pray that there was someone to…

A sound almost like that of someone tripping over ricocheted through the ceiling.

“—Halt. Who’s there?”

His gaze traveled to the half-opened doors to the audience chamber, and it was then that he saw it; a glimpse of dirty blond hair peeking through a small opening of the doors.

He strode forward and slid them wide open, revealing a crouching boy staring back at him with wide brown eyes, who upon being caught tried his luck at fleeing, only to slip and fall to the floor with a cry.

His eyes flashed briefly in stunned outrage, lips pursing in a tight line.

Gilgamesh reached down and grabbed the boy by the elbow, pulling him up in mid-air and earning another pained cry out of him.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded. "Why are you out of bed? How long have you been listening? Answer me!" He shouted as he dragged him through the halls.

The boy could not form a coherent answer to that, probably too focused on the pain around his arm as he scrambled against the floor, trying to regain his footing even as he was forcefully dragged away. However, before his attempts could bloom into something useful, he was hurled forwards and sent tumbling back.

The eyes that met his as he rushed to recover from his fall were filled with ire and mistrust.

Of course, he was right to be mistrustful of him.

Siduri ran past him and wrapped her arms around the boy’s waist in a restraining hug with as much force so as not to let him scurry away from her grasp.

“Abbum!" he cried as Siduri tried to restrain him, the assistant’s features contorted into something anguished as well while she kept him from lunging at him. "No, let go of me! Abbum!"

Gilgamesh thought about rebuking him, but as he watched his son reach out for him, the anger on his face broke into poorly concealed grief.

"Get him out of here," he said, not caring if his voice sounded broken.

As Siduri started to move him away, carrying him in her arms, the boy continued his struggle against her hold, crying out to him, only louder.

“Abbum! Wait, what's wrong with ummum? Abbum, what are you— Ummum! Wait, ummum!"

Gilgamesh caught one last glimpse at his eyes before he was dragged back to his own chambers and away from the conversation that had taken place just now.

His eyes had a radiance similar to that of that fool who moved him a long time ago. Soft and brown and human like hers, but with an edge to them.

It was when he found momentarily losing himself in them that memories of a garden and a river flooded back like a sucker punch to the gut, and he wondered when did it all happen —when had things gone so awry that they turned the way they turned, with him going back to zero once more.

**Author's Note:**

> 'Clouds over the moon, and wind over the flowers’ is an old-fashion Japanese idiom for "good time doesn't last long." 
> 
> I will surely revisit this universe sometime soon, but for the meantime I leave you with this depressing ending instead. I'm so so sorry I promise the next thing I write won't be this mushy.


End file.
